Maggie's Farm

Super Tuscans. The new wines of Tuscany. The American. Photo is an Antinori vineyard in the Chianti region.

Be careful when using your Chase Card.

Economic disaster is good for you. Dust My Broom

"Everyone in this room would agree..." Katie Couric on Iraq:

“Everyone in this room would agree that people in this country were misled in terms of  the rationale of this war,” said Couric, adding  that it is “pretty much accepted” that the war in Iraq was a mistake."

It is? Only time will tell. Also:

The whole culture of wearing flags on our lapel and saying ‘we’ when referring to the United States and, even the ‘shock and awe’ of the initial stages, it was just too jubilant and just a little uncomfortable.

Yes, I guess saying "we" is rather intense. That lady does not get out of Manhattan enough. I must admit I have never seen her, but she sounds like a caricature of the typical smug NYC left-chic chardonnay-sipping multi-millionaire who lives in a bubble.

Since it's Beat Up on Columbia Week, a quote from a piece in FIRE:

...keep in mind that FIRE’s core objections to “social justice requirements” have been broadcast loud and clear. For ready example, we’ve told Columbia University’s Teachers College time and again that their use of “social justice” dispositions in student evaluations is morally repugnant. Despite sending more than a few letters to Teachers College, they still seem not to understand. (To be fair, their last letter insisted that they were looking into the problem—but that was May, and we’ve heard nothing since.) Unfortunately, Teachers College is far from the only school with a penchant for dictating acceptable ideologies to its students. As we wrote in the New York Post in June, Washington State University, Le Moyne College, Brooklyn College, and Rhode Island College have all imposed their own political or moral conclusions upon their students in the past several years.

Smart Christian links thus to the "New Humanism" Conference at Harvard:

Here is an article on the “New Humanism” conference at Harvard.  Harvard’s humanist chaplain was there, how nice.  It seems like the same old thing to me.  I take Harvard’s activities rather personal, as my many great grandfather, Thomas Dudley, signed its original charter.  He is turning over in his grave.

If you read his link, it just sounds like a 19th Century anti-religion meeting. One would think that real "humanists" would have more respect for the very human search for the divine.

The wave of pessimism has passed. Dunn in American Thinker. A quote:

One of the benefits of Petreaus-Crocker hearings is the way they've cleared up the miasma of defeatism and futility that settled over the topic of Iraq since the beginning of this year. Much of this was produced by MoveOn, the media, and advantage-hunting Democratic pols, but it was also implicit in a lot of commentary from the war's supporters as well. (e.g., the habit of ending each announcement of good news with some line such as, "of course, there's a long way to go" or "we've still got a hard road ahead". This solecism is common among everyone from W on down, and amounts to jabbing a nail in your own tire.)

WalMart beats socialized medicine. No Pasaran. Hmmm, maybe free markets work better than government.

Who writes history? Driscoll. And who invented the myth of the 50s? I think the myth was based on TV, not real life. It seems to me that the 50s were generally sane, stable, and prosperous. The war was over, the culture wars had not begun, and the grown-ups were in charge.

Gay-point averages rank colleges. h/t, reader. If you "happen to be" straight, would you be uncomfortable in the most highly-ranked gay-friendly schools?

Fishing: A new college sport. How do you win?

Italy's sex slave trade. BBC

Canadians upset about Mexican immigration (from the US). Darn those racist Canadians.

Ideological perfection. Kim. Seeking it in a candidate is a fool's errand.

The SCHIP story. Powerline. It's important, but a bit below the MSM radar. I do think it's a Trojan horse, designed to make the middle class accustomed to government health care. It's "for the children," isn't it?

Back Pain: Acupuncture works by placebo effect. Duh. But it works better than conventional treatments for back pain. So how come the placebo effect is weaker with conventional treatments?

How the heavy-handed Clintons control the press. via Drudge

The Seven Perennial Sins, a book at LaShawn

When NJ and KY tried Hillarycare. Betsy

Bollinger scrambles to save face - and to save donations. NY Sun

A new classic on the subject of blogs and the media by Driscoll at The Atlas Society: Atlas Mugged: How a gang of scrappy individual bloggers broke the stranglehold of the Mainstream Media. Read the whole thing because it gives a good summary of the history of "self-publishing." A quote:

Big Media isn’t going away. They still generate enormous sums of advertising revenue, despite a declining—and rapidly aging—audience. But fortunately, information alternatives are becoming increasingly available. The forms of blogging will become increasingly diversified, too, to the point where the words “blogs” and “blogging” soon may become passé.

But whatever its future form, the idea and ideal of individual self-publishing—something that our pamphleteer-era Founding Fathers would instantly understand and enthusiastically applaud—is safely here to stay.

Photo above: That is not dog vomit - that is delicious Chipped Beef on toast. As our mornings get cooler, it seems like time to begin to think about hot, heart-warming and artery-clogging All-White Breakfasts (food white in color - nothing racial). And speaking of comfort food, SISU makes a "perfect apple pie," with lard, of course. In Yankeeland, Apple Pie is traditionally for breakfast, not dessert.

X Games injuries. Idiots.

Steyn: Bend over for Nurse Hillary.

Annie Oakley's guns at auction.

The Pope gets tough on Moslem extremism

Bip died. Jules. It surprised me that he was still living.

I'm beginning to enjoy XXl Century Socialism. Devil's Excrement

Jena: Searching for facts

I was wrong about the NYT: Roger Simon

It's not about Free Speech. SDA. Bollinger has it all bolluxed up, and I'd guess he thinks his critics are neanderthal proles. It's about who you deem worthy of your invitation and your audience. What somebody deems worthy says plenty about them, their judgement, and their values. I have free speech too, but Bollinger hasn't invited me yet.

Hey, where are all the hurricanes? I am eagerly awaiting to hear that global warming reduces hurricanes. Or maybe makes hurricanes difficult to predict?

Speaking of hurricanes, New Orleans, the Crime Murder Capitol of the USA, literally held up America - and got away with it. Below is Kudlow, as quoted in Moral Issues and Economic Solutions at Classical Values:

The grand total is $127 billion (including tax relief).

That's right: a monstrous $127 billion. Of course, not a single media story has highlighted this gargantuan government-spending figure. But that number came straight from the White House in a fact sheet subtitled, "The Federal Government Is Fulfilling Its Commitment to Help the People of the Gulf Coast Rebuild." Huh?

Perhaps all this money should've been directly deposited in the bank accounts of the 300,000 people living in New Orleans. All divvied up, that $127 billion would come to $425,000 per person! After thanking Uncle Sam for their sudden windfall, residents could head to Southern California and buy homes that are now on sale thanks to the sub-prime mortgage crisis and bid up the sagging house prices in the state.

Greenies turn against biofuels. Right they are. EU Referendum

A new cancer treatment? This is interesting.

Does AQ take courage from the defeatists? Obviously. Yes, the people who use children as human shields.

Any doubt that Iraq is a proxy war with Iran? Riehl

Would Mexico allow us to do this in Mexico?

Some, like Jawa, hate Rudy for his past gun stands. I will forgive him that, if he repents.

Speech Nazis shut down Larry Summers at Santa Cruz. That is from What Happens on Campus Cannot Stay on Campus, by Kesler. Just like Yale Law with the recuiters.

Meanwhile, Columbia welcomes Ahmadinejad. It all makes ya wonder.

Avast, me hearties:Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day. (photo from Mr. Free Market)

The Terrorist's Guide to the 2008 Elections. Stillwell

Syria, beloved of Nancy Pelosi and Dennis Kucinich, and the WMD

The "tolerance" and "diversity" Nazis in academia and elsewhere. Villainous

A Moslem tide turning against Jihad? Tiger Hawk

"Norway confronts Islam...and wilts." Gates of V.

The Left loves totalitarian thugs. Of course. It's the quickest way to exert power over people - for their own good, of course. That theme is just so consistent: "We must take away your freedom because we care..." and it's always implied "because we are smarter than you." Chavez threatens independent schools: Moonbattery, whence the photo on right.

Home size, 1980-today. Coyote

Things you might not know about the Duke case. Minding the Campus. h/t, Insty

I still cannot get over the fact that poor Americans have a higher standard of living than average Europeans. No Pasaran

Rudy is all over Hillary. Surber. He is the right guy to take her on. Quick, incisive, cheerful.

Oh my gosh! The US Naval Academy is run by the military! A clueless Barnard student speaks. h/t, New depths of st00pidity at Right Wing Nation)

A "good college" means nothing to me. Attack Machine. He wants results. However, a fine liberal arts education is not really an investment in one's business success: it's supposed to be an investment in your soul. America is filled with multi-millionaires who never heard of Plato, and I think that is a wonderful thing (although it's their loss). Americans, on the whole, are a practical people.

Immigration "reform": Ankle-Biting looks at the grim political reality. Meanwhile, Congress "quietly returns to immigration."

AQ in Iraq update: are they falling apart? Protein

"Sharing."   Voegli

Robbery stats from around the world.

A peek into the world of the Netroots. Never Yet Melted

Banning knitting in waiting rooms? We made a joke about this a while ago, never dreaming the notion could become realized. Blue Crab. It's a miracle Rugby is still legal. Euroland is the Land of Self-Satire.

Mark Steyn almost lost control of his car with laughter. It's about the Gov. of Mass: Looking for Love in all the wrong places. Have you hugged a Jihadist today?

Hillary ain't talking. About much of anything. Got too much to lose. But is silence golden? NY Daily News. Maybe free medical care will distract from the Clinton Disease.

How about Single-payer everything? Attack Machine. We have in the past suggested single-payer car insurance and single-payer "legal care."

The EU: Increase Moslem immigration, censor the internet. Brussels Journal. Time for a revolution over there, friends.

Greenspan rips the Bush Admin - for good reason. Dino

A good take on "the most sanctimonious song ever written." Asst. Village Genius

We mentioned yesterday how often scientific studies are wrong, whether deliberately distorted or not. Case in point:At Slate, Rigging a study to make Conservatives look stupid. h/t, Insty

Cherry-picking data: How come people never talk about the South Pole? Powerline

Defeatism through history (h/t, Grandaddy). From Kagan in National Review, a quote:

In 1864 Lincoln changed generals, and undertook a more aggressive strategy, but the war continued to drag on. A hostile newspaper, wrote, "that perhaps it is time to agree to a peace without victory.” Like Pericles, Lincoln was assailed by attacks on his policies and by personal vituperation. At the Democratic convention in August 1864 a speaker told a crowd in the streets that Lincoln and the Union armies had "Failed! Failed!! FAILED!!! FAILED!!!!" The loss of life ‘has never been seen since the destruction of Sennacherib by the breath of the Almighty and still the monster usurper wants more men for his slaughter pens."

Photo: Another Melissa. She has nice teeth.

Sandy Berger, aka Sandy Burglar, is back. What exactly did he steal? RWNH. In politics, as in the mob, this is what is called "loyalty."

Mysterious weight loss. Never Yet Melted

Banning religious books from prisons. Anchoress. I guess they want to get rid of the Korans, but decided to be even-handed with Christian stuff too. Another example of moral-equivalence insanity. My opinion? Fill the prison with Bibles.

Joking about 9-11. The James Brolin video. there must be something wrong with that guy.

Photo: For Melissa fans, I stumbled into this Melissa collection (I forget where I found the link) at the fine New England ex-blog called Ex-Donkey Blog.

Bush's speech last night on Iraq via Surber here.

"Democratic Europe, RIP"  Gates.  

Lance Morrow of Time quoted at Blair:

The worst times, as we see, separate the civilized of the world from the uncivilized. This is the moment of clarity. Let the civilized toughen up, and let the uncivilized take their chances in the game they started.

Bullying, intolerance,guns, code language, and "peace studies": Lessons in tolerance for the Intolerant, at Classical Values. A quote:

Recently, I noticed an insidious movement called "Peace Studies" which among other things redefines the word "violence" to mean opposition to socialism. Last week Andrew Sullivan called it "ideology masquerading as scholarship" and praised Bruce Bawer for "putting his finger on something":

We need to make two points about this movement at the outset. First, it's opposed to every value that the West stands for -- liberty, free markets, individualism -- and it despises America, the supreme symbol and defender of those values. Second, we're talking not about a bunch of naive Quakers but about a movement of savvy, ambitious professionals that is already comfortably ensconced at the United Nations, in the European Union, and in many nongovernmental organizations. It is also waging an aggressive, under-the-media-radar campaign for a cabinet-level Peace Department in the United States.

I don't think this is happening merely under the media radar. It's happening under everyone's radar.

Brit Tories consider a ban on HDTV, along with controls on kitchen applicances, to save the earth. (h/t, Gay and Right). Meanwhile, climate scientists increasingly skeptical about global warming fears. Photo above: an "ultra-modern" American kitchen of the 1920s, which is still probably too electrically-powered for the Tories (photo via Dr. X.). Yes, the Tories.

Sweden's Islamic crime wave. Free Republic. A quote:

The boys explain, laughingly, that “there is a thrilling sensation in your body when you’re robbing, you feel satisfied and happy, it feels as if you’ve succeeded, it simply feels good.” “It’s so easy to rob Swedes, so easy.” “We rob every single day, as often as we want to, whenever we want to.” The immigrant youth regard the Swedes as stupid and cowardly: “The Swedes don’t do anything, they just give us the stuff. They’re so wimpy.” The young robbers do not plan their crimes: “No, we just see some Swedes that look rich or have nice mobile phones and then we rob them...”

I guess the Swedes take their "tolerance" and "multiculturalism" seriously.

Orwell Update: The EU has a "Justice and Security Officer." He is worried about what words people use. Samizdata. Want some more EU Disease this morning? This quoted at No Pasaran:

The head of the Council of Europe - a mainly human rights watchdog based in Strasbourg, France and not an EU institution - branded the protesters bigots and said they were a threat to Europe's values.

"It is very important to remember that the freedom of assembly and expression can be restricted to protect the rights and freedoms of others, including the freedom of thought, conscience and religion," secretary general Terry Davis said.

Who was it who said "1984 (or was it Brave New World?) was intended as a warning, not as an instruction manual."?

Is Iraq Al Quaida bait? It's a theory. Am. Thinker

Good news for the planet: Earth may survive the death of the sun.

Brit troops sent to Iranian border. Polipundit

Denialists. Germans and 9-11. Moonbattery. The Europeans have an historical weakness for denial, don't they?

The Conservative advantage in syndicated opinion columns. (h/t, Memeorandum)

Totten on Ramadi today. Lots of photos.

A quote from Oxford Medievalist on Hsugate:

While the story is still very much alive, which is surprising since it involves Hillary, I'd point out that, if it were any other non-Clinton politician at the center of this scandal, his or her candidacy would've been sunk by now.

Yes, we have learned to have no standards for the Clintons: they have taught us well. Many Hsu links and much info at Gateway.

That air strike by Israel into Syria was a good story. Wish we had more details h/t, Roger Simon.

How did the West secularize politics and governance? Book review by Kirsch in the NY Sun

George Will: A war seeking a mission. He makes a good point:

What "forced" America to go to war in 2003 -- the "gathering danger" of weapons of mass destruction -- was fictitious. That is one reason this war will not be fought, at least not by Americans, to the bitter end. The end of the war will, however, be bitter for Americans, partly because the president's decision to visit Iraq without visiting its capital confirmed the flimsiness of the fallback rationale for the war -- the creation of a unified, pluralist Iraq.

After more than four years of war, two questions persist: Is there an Iraq? Are there Iraqis?

Hsugate? It is all reminscent of Bill Clinton's China connections. Scott at Powerline sums up the recent news reports.

How smokers saved Iraq. Surber

More on the dark side of diversity. Driscoll

Was 9-11 a "failure of human understanding"? Boston Herald. Pretty to think so. The BEEB, predictably, takes it to a fully dishonest extent: It's America's fault. That sort of propagandizing and lying to kids infuriates me. Unfortunately for the world, the Islamist terrorists are driven by religious hate and nothing more.

"You haven't earned the right to be war-weary." Willisms. Indeed. The only people suffering in this war are the soldiers and their families, and it's part of their dangerous profession to do so for the rest of us. It is not "suffering" to hear the news in our comfortable seats as we dine on our chips, salsa, beer and Twinkies.

The politicization of this "small war" is a damn shame, and simply gives hope to those who want to destroy a free Iraq. Like it or not, we will be there for a long time and as soon as the bad guys realize that, some of the scumbags will find something better to do - like getting married and getting a job and trying life as sane, honest, peaceable citizens.

Heck, we are still in Korea, and nobody complains about that except me. Furthermore, I was a skeptic about invading Iraq and figured Bush Sr. had some very good reasons to hold back (and he did). 

Am I a "moron dead-ender"? I don't think so. Some things are difficult: consider curing cancer, getting rid of cockroaches from a NYC apartment, eliminating crime, weeding the garden, removing corruption from New Jersey politics, killing terrorists one at a time - but it doesn't mean you don't work at them. "Can do."

Moslem Jihadists are the cockroaches of the world today, and they are going to be with us for a long time because they believe they are pleasing their god by killing infidels. If some of them want to die in Iraq, fine by me.

Related to above: Attack Machine considers "Copperheads Redux."

Belgium: Bring back the Duchy of Burgundy. EU Referendum

Time Magazine regrets the invention of the automobile, forgets how their magazine gets delivered. Blair

Obstruction of justice? Gov. Eliot Spitzer's "black car meetings."

You want a burger, and the burger wants to be eaten. Consenting adults, right? LA may limit fast food in some neighborhoods. As Coyote notes, this is mini-fascism.

How are the Polar Bears faring? Small Dead Cute Baby Seals

The worst school in America. Front Page

Is there anything good about men? An essay/speech by Prof. Roy Baumeister to the American Psychological Assoc.  (h/t, Minding the Campus) One quote:

Culture has plenty of tradeoffs, in which it needs people to do dangerous or risky things, and so it offers big rewards to motivate people to take those risks. Most cultures have tended to use men for these high-risk, high-payoff slots much more than women. I shall propose there are important pragmatic reasons for this. The result is that some men reap big rewards while others have their lives ruined or even cut short. Most cultures shield their women from the risk and therefore also don’t give them the big rewards. I’m not saying this is what cultures ought to do, morally, but cultures aren’t moral beings. They do what they do for pragmatic reasons driven by competition against other systems and other groups.

Image is from the Harrison Hot Springs Sand Sculpture Tournament of Champions. What kind of cool sand to they have there?

Mass without a priest? I did not know that the Prof was a converted Roman Catholic. The Eucharist requires a priest in Catholicism.

Is Fred a lightweight? Reason

Here we go again: Is Shakespeare Shakespeare?

More on those "uninsured millions." Conspiracy to Keep You Poor and Stupid. Luskin consludes:

Which brings us to the ultimate question: Does it make any sense to destroy a health care system that 5 out of 100 people do not have adequate access to?

A computer program to translate hieroglyphics and cuneiform. h/t, cool links from Flares.

A fine meditation on Mother Theresa's "dark night of the soul." Anchoress

Socialism: Is the debate over? Solim at Volokh. I thought it was done.

When "carrying" was normal: Charlotte Bronte's dad, and related handgun topics.

Peter Breughel and kids' games: Yesterday and today. Cool.

A nice visit to Baskin-Robbins. Alphecca. Word to the wise: Do not point a weapon at anybody - even at a friendly Baskin-Robbins ice-cream scooper.

The Golden Bears: Football and the soul of Berkeley. Suddenly I find myself liking college football.

Why I left South Africa. Kim du Toit

Hispanic immigrants account for all increases in US poverty. Coyote

Have you noticed how Christian preachers, outside church, always mention God but never Jesus in public prayer? They pretend there is a generic god, to be polite. Here's what happens if they don't. h/t, News for Christians

A sovereignty that no-one has taken by arms since 1066 will be handed over. EU Referendum. My opinion? Insane.

Speaking of which - "Get your own damn army." Why is the USA still defending Europe? Or South Korea, for that matter? Time for them to grow up.

The Inca mummy on display.

More nukes is good news. Willisms. It's as close to a free lunch as this world offers.

Dartmouth update: "The First Shoe Drops," at Powerline. Bad news for the Indian Uprising: the Indians have stone-age weapons, and the bad guys have cannon.

Photo: One of Theo's gals to remind us that it is getting time to get the guns out. Hunting season is just around the corner.